Hand protector



G. D. WYANT HAND PROTECTOR July 18, 1933.

Filed Oct 15, 1932 gl'VEzljTOR WITNESSES Mal/m W, 4. M4.

Fatented July 18, 1933 GEDBGE n. WYANT, or ALLIsen, PENNSYLVANIA,ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF T0 OF UIIIUETTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA HAND r'norncronApolication filed October 15, 1932. Serial No. 637,863.

I as to expose the holding the an which occasionalsp being swung incramped .t tors, is accidentally deflected trom it's led path and causedto strike that mind. This is nearly certain to'result in severe injuryto'the hand, and is likely to cause the loss of one or more lingers.

= ride a-hand shield which protects a i om accldentalblows of tools,held me without substantially restraining the hand, can be worn oneither in place or removed, is not uncomto wear, and which is simple 1norm and inempenswe to manufacture.

. ustratcd in the accompanying drawing,

55 o which Fig. 1 is abet-tom plan view of a.

shield, showing it in place on a hand; Fig.

2 a side view of the shield viewed from the top of Fig. and Fig. 3 anend View thereof.

Referring to the drawing, a hand protec 11g shield l is preferably madefrom r1 "id hlo v-resisting material, by which is meant material. suchas metal, composition or i like, which is capable of withstanding theblow of an or hammer, etc. As the suield adapted to be worn on thehand,it is also desirable that the material of udrich it is constructedbe not only blow-resisting, but light in weight so as to not unduly tireor hamper the hand, aluminum being well suited to this purpose. If theshield be as may be used in shoring up among the objects of hisinvention made from metal it ma readil' be formed by bending asubstantially rectangular blank to the shape preferred according to thisinvention.

The shield is arched transversely (Fig.

to enable it to overlie the sides'of the hand as Well as the backthereof, thereby giving protection to all warts of the hand exceot the ni .L

palm, which engagesand is protected by the object l sing held. Thecorner portions 2 of the inner or thumb sid of the shield are Ait'erably turned down to further protect the inner side of the hand andto renderthe shield less cumbersome.

position overthe hand of a workman, diet is an important feature of thistion '0 allow at the same time substair rained freedom of movement of I1e shield is provided under the of its inner side with a loop 3adapted-to slip over thethumb. Although this loop may be formed from aseparate member connected to the shield, it is preferable to form itfrom an integral tongue portion cut transversely from the inner side ofthe shield and looped back and under. The edges of the tongue aresmoothed and curved outward slightly to prevent them from cutting intothe thumb. It. is. desirable that the shielded hand be leftsubstantially free to function, for, other wise, if it were hampered bythe shield, worlnnen would be unwilling to take advantageof theprotection allorded by theshield. Furthermore, in some cases theinterference of a shield with the hand might render its and, inv

use impracticableor even impossible' To permitthe shield to be held inprotectturned obliquely outward to prevent them from cutting into thewrists. It is also desirable that each end of the shield be providedwith a hole 5 through which suitable means may be passed for locking theshield with other tools after work, as is the practice especially whereworkmen labor in shifts with their own tools. The inside face of theshield may be padded with a suitable cushioning material 6, such as feltor rubber, to make it more comfortable to wear and to prevent the backof the hand from being skinned or otherwise injured in case an ax orother L001 strikes the shield.

The shield being held on the back of either hand by merely slipping athumb through the loop, as shown in Fig. l, and there being no strapsand buckles nor other fastening devices necessary for holding it inplace, it is, therefore, adapted to quick and easy application andremoval. The method of attachment provided by this invention alsopermitsthe shielded hand to be used practically as freely as normally, even thethumb not being completely restrained. As set forth above, this is amaterial advantage.

The shield being interchangeable as to hands, both left and right handshields need not be provided, thereby making it unnecessary for aworkman to be equipped with two shields. All parts of a hand which wouldotherwise be exposed are adequately covered and protected, but,nevertheless, tie shield is very simple in form. Likewise, being madepreferably in one piece, it is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple and mode of operation of my invention, and have illustratedand described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment.However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of theappended claims. the invention may be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described.

I claim: i

1. A hand-protector for shielding ahand from blows of a tool, comprisinga. shield of blow-resisting material, and means associatedtherewithadapted to be engaged by a thumb and forming the sole means for holdingsaid shield in protecting position over.

the backof a hand, said means being disposed on the same side of theshield as said hand. 7

2. A hand-protector for shielding a hand from blows of a tool comJllSlIl a ri ld 7 l D b shield of blow-resisting material, and meansintegral therewith adapted to be engaged by either thumb for holdingsaid shield in protecting position over the back of either hand whilepermitting substantially unrestrained use of said hand, said means beingdisposed 011 the same side of the shield as said hand and forming thesole meansior holding said shield in protecting position over the backof the hand.

3. I hand-protector for shielding a hand from blows of a tool,comprising a substaniallyrigid shield 01 blow-resisting material and aloop portion connected thereto and adapted to be engaged by a thumb forholding said shield in protecting position over the back of a hand, saidloop portion being disposed on the same side of the shield as said handand forming the sole means for holding said shield in protectingposition over the back of the hand.

A hand-protector for shielding a hand from blows of a tool, comprising asubstantially rigid shield of blow-resisting material, and an underlyingloop portion integral therewith substantially midway of its length andadapted to be engaged by either thumb tor holding said shield inprotecting position over the back of either hand.

5. A hand-protector for shielding a hand from blows of a tool,comprising a substantially rigid shield of blow-resi "1;: mate rial, anda tongue cut from said shale ol:- stantially midway of one side thereoflooped back and under to provide a loop adapted to be engaged by eitherthumb for holding said shield in protecting position over the back ofeither hand, the corner por tions of the tongue side of said shieldbeing turned down. l

6. A hand-protectorfor shielding a hand from blows of a tool, comprisina shield formed from a substantially r din blank 0t metal archedtransvei y o. the hand and having the corner portions of one side turneddown, a tongue cut trrlini said shield substantially midway of saiddownturned corners and looped back and under to provide a loop adaptedto be engaged by a thumb for holding said shield in protecting positionover the back of a hand, and cushioning means connected to the innerface of said shield for contact with the hand. the ends of the shieldbeing curved upwa d to prevent the edges of the ends -from cutting intothe wrists.

GEORGE D. \VYANT.

